Everyone is aware, to some degree, of the major inroads the Japanese have made and are continuing to make in US markets, including automobiles, electronics, cameras, computer hardware, machine tools, and aerospace. In automobiles, the United States has fought back strongly.

There are many examples where the Japanese have taken over an American plant, kept the same workers, laid off half of management, and doubled productivity! Some of the elements of Japanese philosophy include:

1. Worker Flexibility: Rather than being specialized, workers are trained to do many different tasks, making for a flexible process and reduced WIP.

2. Jidoka Quality at the Source: If a bad unit is made, it is not set aside. The entire process is stopped, and everyone looks to find the problem. This again reduces WIP and does not allow continued production a bad goods.

3. Just-in-Time Production: An item is produced exactly when it is needed. This works best for repetitive manufacturing, so all processes are designed to be repetitive manufacturing. Kanban control systems were developed for this situation.

4. Uniform Plant Loading: Confusion and shock waves from changing things are avoided by having exactly the same thing made every day. One way to do this is to establish a standard mix of products to be made every day.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, Line of Sight